ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — In front of a huge Boardwalk Hall crowd, Anthony Sesely raced to victory Saturday night in the NAPA Auto Parts Atlantic City Indoor Race Gambler’s Classic holding off Saturday night winner Andy Jankowiak.
Sesely charged forward from the ninth starting position, choosing to take a guaranteed $500 courtesy of Bob Hilbert Sportswear for electing to start in the last redraw spot. The $500 would double if Sesely won the feature event, adding a cool $1,000 to the winner’s share.
Joey Bailey and Erick Rudolph led the 26-car field to the drop of the green flag, with Rudolph leading the event prior to the halfway point. Sesely quickly used the top side of the race track to move into the third position by lap 10.
Jankowiak maneuvered his way around Rudolph to claim the top spot at the midway point, with Sesely challenging for the lead a few circuits later.
Sesely eventually took control, as he scored the win by half a car length.
It would be Sesely’s fourth in the prestigious Gambler’s Classic, coming behind the wheel of a TQ built by 2 Kwik Chassis.
“This win is for the owners of these cars, Ricky Kluth and Jeff Ulrich. The 27 car I won with is a tribute car for Ricky’s father and the 75 car I raced last night is a tribute car for Jeff’s dad,” Sesely said.
Jankowiak held on for second, while Mike Christopher, Jr. finished third after battling overheating problems. Ryan Flores was fourth and Nick Ladyga ran fifth.
Sesely’s second win of the season guaranteed his TQ Midget Championship and earned him the coveted TC Cup Trophy – named after seven-time Indoor Series winner, Ted Christopher.
“Winning the TC Cup Trophy means so much to me,” Sesely said. “Teddy (Christopher) was a great competitor, but even more important, he was my friend.”
Also winning features Saturday night were Logan Crisafulli in the Champ Karts, Danny Spellmon in the Slingshots, and Erick Rudolph in the 600 Micro Sprints.
Tyler Brown was acknowledged as the Champ Karts Indoor Auto Racing Series Fueled By VP 2023 champion. Scott Neary, the fifth-place finisher, claimed the 2023 Slingshot Championship.
Stream the event on SPEEDSPORT.tv.
The Finish:
Feature (40 Laps): 1. Anthony Sesely, 2. Andy Jankowiak, 3. Mike Christopher Jr., 4. Ryan Flores, 5. Nick Ladyga, 6. Jeremy Haudriccourt, 7. Joey Bailey, 8. Matt Janisch, 9. Tyler Ferris, 10. Ryan Tidman, 11. Matt Swanson, 12. Erick Rudolph, 13. Tim Buckwalter, 14. Kyle Lick, 15. Briggs Danner, 16. Shawn Nye, 17. Tommy Catalano, 18. Ryan Bartlett, 19. Zach Bealer, 20. Andrew Molleur, 21. Billy Pauch Jr., 22. Trevor Catalano, 23. Timmy Catalano, 24. Scott Kreutter 25. Ryan Susice, 26. Tyler Thompson